Steven Mnuchin

Parents: Elaine Terner Cooper of New York and Robert E. Mnuchin of Washington, Conn. His mother is a vice president of the International Directors Council of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and a director of the Byrd Hoffman Foundation, which supports the arts. His father, who retired as a general partner at Goldman, Sachs, owns C&M Arts, an art gallery in New York. NY Times

financed major blockbusters such as American Sniper, Gravity, Avatar and Life of Pi. Bloomberg

"The bank (IndyMac) was renamed OneWest Bank, and Mnuchin became its chairman and CEO. The bank developed a reputation during the recession for being quick to foreclose on delinquent homeowners, closing on more than 36,000 households under Mnuchin, according the housing-advocacy group California Reinvestment Coalition." NPR

Timeline

2016.03

Mnuchin forecloses on the home of 90-year-old woman after a payment error falsely made it seem like her payment was 27-cent short.politico.com

2016.05.09

Donald Trump announces that Steven Mnuchin — who made his fortune at Goldman Sachs, worked for a firm funded by George Soros, and donated to Hillary Clinton — will be responsible for helping him raise $1 billion for Republicans and his own campaign.nytimes.com(See also 2016 Campaign, Department of the Treasury)

Donald Trump’s nominee for Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin, defended his use of offshore tax havens on Thursday, after revealing in an updated set of financial disclosures that he is the director of a Cayman Islands-based investment fund.buzzfeed.com(See also Department of the Treasury, Corruption)

2017.01.19

Senate Finance Committee reveals that Steven Mnuchin failed to disclose nearly $100 million of his assets on disclosure documents and forgot to mention his role as a director of an investment fund located in a tax haven.mobile.nytimes.com

Mnuchin also failed to list his role as a director of an investment fund in the Cayman Islands on a questionnaire.

2017.01.26

Trump's Treasury cabinet nominee, Steven Mnuchin, is registered to vote in two states.cnn.com(See also Voter Fraud)

In his first interview since his confirmation, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin lays out ambitious goals to secure a U.S. tax-code overhaul by August and to deliver economic growth at rates not seen in more than a decade.wsj.com(See also Department of the Treasury, Taxes)

2017.02.23

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says he wants to use a regular review of foreign-exchange markets to determine if China is manipulating currency, contradicting an October pledge by Trump to direct his Treasury Secretary to name China a manipulator on the first day of his administration.bloomberg.com(See also China, First 100 Days)

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s wife Louise Linton boasted of flying on a government plane with her husband to Kentucky on Monday and then named the numerous fashion brands she wore on the trip in an unusual social media post.washingtonpost.com(See also Conflicts of Interest)

2017.09.13

Secretary Steven Mnuchin requested use of a government jet, costing roughly $25,000 per hour to operate, to take him and his wife on their honeymoon in Scotland, France and Italy earlier this summer, sparking an “inquiry” by the Treasury Department's Office of Inspector General.abcnews.go.com(See also Department of the Treasury)

2017.09.22

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin used a costly government jet to make the short journey from New York City to Washington D.C. following a meeting in Trump Tower last month, a flight that is now under review by department investigators, along with at least two other requests for government travel involving the secretary.abcnews.go.com(See also Department of the Treasury, Corruption)

2017.10.05

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has flown on military aircraft seven times since March at a cost of more than $800,000, including a $15,000 round-trip flight to New York to meet with President Trump at Trump Tower.nytimes.com(See also Corruption, Department of the Treasury)

Donald Trump and Republican leaders have positioned a proposed repeal of the estate tax as a way to help farmers, ranchers and small business owners, but Steven Mnuchin, the Treasury secretary, offered a significant concession about who would benefit the most if the so-called death tax disappears: the rich.nytimes.com(See also False Statements, Conflicts of Interest, Department of the Treasury)

2017.11.06

Nearly half of all middle-class families would pay more in taxes in 2026 than they would under current rules if the proposed House tax bill became law, and about 33% would pay more in 2018, a striking finding for a bill promoted by Donald Trump and congressional Republicans as a middle-class tax cut.nytimes.com(See also False Statements, Economy, Department of the Treasury)

Millions of middle-class families — particularly those with children — would see an immediate tax increase, averaging about $2,000.

2017.11.08

Lawrence Summers, the former president of Harvard and a top economic adviser to President Barack Obama, has accused Mr. Mnuchin of damaging the credibility of Treasury by making “irresponsible” economic assessments of the administration’s tax plan and acting as a “sycophant” to President Trump.nytimes.com(See also Department of the Treasury)

The U.S. Treasury Department released a one-page analysis of the GOP's proposed tax reform plan, acknowledging that the tax plan will not pay for itself via economic growth, despite Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin having regularly made such a claim.axios.com(See also False Statements, Department of the Treasury)

Donald Trump’s plan to abolish a tax break for hedge-fund managers was kept out of the final tax overhaul legislation -- an act of defiance by congressional leaders who exploited a split among Trump’s advisers.bloomberg.com(See also Economy, False Statements, Hypocrisy, Reversals)

The Congressional Budget Office said on Wednesday that the United States is expected to bump up against its borrowing limit a month earlier than previously expected, a function of last year’s $1.5 trillion tax cut, which is resulting in less revenue for the Treasury Department.nytimes.com(See also Department of the Treasury, Economy)

Donald Trump said he is pulling the United States out of the international nuclear deal with Iran, despite last-ditch efforts by Britain, France and Germany to convince him the accord could be “fixed.”washingtonpost.com(See also Foreign Policy, Iran, Reversals)

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the administration was revoking licenses for Boeing and Airbus, which were among the biggest deals since the nuclear accord,as Boeing had planned to sell IranAir about 80 aircraft worth about $17 billion; Airbus had agreed to sell 100 aircraft worth about $19 billion.

2018.05.20

The Trump administration has suspended its plan to impose sweeping tariffs on China as it presses forward with trade talks, a gesture that will temporarily ease tensions between the two nations but rapidly increase pressure on Donald Trump to secure the type of tough deal that he has long said is necessary to protect American workers.nytimes.com(See also Economy, China, Trade, Department of the Treasury)

The move, which the White House announced Tuesday morning, comes just over a week after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the trade war between the two countries was “on hold.”

2018.07.16

The U.S. Treasury said that it will no longer require certain tax-exempt organizations including politically active nonprofit groups, such as the National Rifle Association and Planned Parenthood, to identify their financial donors to U.S. tax authorities.reuters.com(See also Department of the Treasury)

2018.07.27

The Trump administration is looking into lifting sanctions against a major Russian aluminum company founded by one of Vladimir Putin's closest allies, even though its former owner, oligarch Oleg Deripaska, was sanctioned this year by the US in an attempt to punish the Kremlin for interfering in the 2016 US presidential election.cnn.com(See also Reversals, Trump Relationship with Russia, Department of the Treasury)

2018.07.30

The Trump administration is considering bypassing Congress to grant a $100 billion tax cut mainly to the wealthy, a legally tenuous maneuver that would cut capital gains taxation and fulfill a long-held ambition of many investors and conservatives.nytimes.com(See also Economy, Department of the Treasury)

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin startled financial analysts, bankers and economists by issuing an unusual statement declaring that the nation’s six largest banks had ample credit to extend to American businesses and households.washingtonpost.com(See also Economy, Department of the Treasury)

Fairholme’s Berkowitz, who endorsed Trump, was one of the winners on Wednesday as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac securities climbed. His two biggest holdings, preferred shares in both companies, added about $220 million in value as of 10:25 a.m., according to data compiled by Bloomberg.According to Trump’s most recent personal financial disclosures, the president-elect owns between $3 million and $15 million worth of funds managed by Paulson, who’s served as a political donor and economic adviser to Trump."

"One of the lenders that have extended credit to Mr. Trump is Mr. Mnuchin’s Dune Capital. Dune was among a syndicate of lenders led by Deutsche Bank for the construction of his Trump International Hotel & Tower, a 92-story skyscraper in Chicago. Mr. Trump sued the lenders, including Dune, in 2008 to extend the terms of the loan on the basis of “unprecedented financial crisis in the credit markets.” The suit was later settled.

"Mr. Mnuchin’s firm was also involved in investing in Trump Waikiki in Hawaii. 'I haven’t really commented on what business we’ve done together,' he said. 'I would describe it as more of a personal relationship than a professional relationship.'”

"disgruntled Relativity investors privately are questioning how a bank Mnuchin once headed –OneWest Bank of Pasadena – was allowed by Relativity to drain $50 million from the studio just weeks prior to the July 30 insolvency filing."

Affiliations

Member of the Board of Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles (MOCA), New York Presbyterian Hospital, the Los Angeles Police Foundation, Life Trustee of New York Presbyterian Hospital and UCLA Health System Board Bloomberg

Vice Chairman of ESL Investments, Inc. since 2003 and serves as its Director Bloomberg

A Mnuchin led investor group, that included Michael Dell, John Paulson, and George Soros, established OneWest after purchasing the remains of failed mortgage lender IndyMac Bancorp in 2009 LA Times & LA TImes & NPR

Analysis

"Mnuchin’s group netted billions thanks in large part to a much-criticized deal that allowed the investors to buy the bank at a big discount while passing off as much as 75% of its loan losses on the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Mnuchin and his group paid about $1.6 billion for the bank and sold it last year to New Jersey lender CIT Group for $3.4 billion.

"Between the sale price and hefty dividends paid out from 2011 to 2015, Mnuchin and his group made a profit of more than $4 billion. It’s not clear how much of a profit Mnuchin personally made, because his stake in OneWest was undisclosed."

"The day after Mr. Trump formally selected him, Mr. Mnuchin said that the government should get out of the business of running Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two giant mortgage finance firms that the federal government bailed out in 2008. The shares of the two companies soared in response to his words — some of the sharpest one-day gains for the stocks since the government conservatorship began."

"Mr. Mnuchin’s remark may have benefited someone else: Mr. Trump has invested $3 million to $15 million with Mr. Paulson’s hedge fund, according to the financial disclosure statement filed during his run for president.

Max Abelson and Zachary Mider — Bloomberg

"When Mr. Mnuchin decided to back Mr. Trump — much to the horror of some of his friends and peers — he explained it to Bloomberg Businessweek the way a trader would: 'Nobody’s going to be like, ‘Well, why did he do this?’ if I end up in the administration.'"

"Richard LeFrak, a billionaire developer who’s friendly with Mnuchin and has known Trump for about half a century, says he isn’t sure if the two even have the same ideology. But he sees a through line in Mnuchin’s journey from Wall Street to Hollywood to bank ownership to politics. “He’s a guy that can recognize an opportunity and adapt to it,” he says. “He’s able to switch into different things.”

Ally Marotti — Los Angeles Times

"His deep roots on Wall Street fit the mold of past Treasury secretaries — though he never led a large investment bank — but they contrast with the populist stance the president-elect took during his campaign."

Peter Dreier — The Nation

"Both Trump and Mnuchin earned their first fortunes the old fashion way: they inherited it. Trump took over his father Fred’s real estate empire and expanded it through questionable business practices. Mnuchin, also the scion of a wealthy and well-connected family, graduated from Yale in 1985 and soon wound up working at Goldman Sachs, where his father Robert had been a general partner."

Sam Levin — The Guardian

“Rather than shaking up Wall Street, he installs the very person that was part of the financial mess,” said Montes-Pack, who has effectively been homeless since the foreclosure. “I’m just thoroughly disgusted.”